Change Your Mind
by Deploringly
Summary: When Sakura arrives back in Konoha after a 3-year long mission she finds she isn't the one to have changed. Team 7 has reunited, she's lost her apartment, and why was Kakashi staring at her boobs? Thus begins Sakura's attempts to fit back into the life she left behind whilst trying to forget the life she had in Sound... Rated M for some language and future sexy times.


Sakura locked the door of her dingy apartment behind her, ignoring the crusty creak of the latch as it closed like she did most days. The living space had been stifling at first but over the years she slowly found herself growing accustomed to it; viewing it as a brief reprieve from the hostile workings of Sound.

She inhaled deeply as the heavy gauze of night blanketed her. For some reason the air didn't seem as polluted as most nights, perhaps it was a good sign, or just silly speculation on her part. Either way it only added to her pleasant mood. She pulled her dull coat around her tighter as a burst of wind touched her hair. It reached far past her shoulders now; she no longer cared for frivolous gestures of girlhood. The length wasn't troublesome, so she felt no need to cut it.

Sound had changed her. She had expected it though after accepting the mission Tsunade had debriefed her on three years ago. It felt like a lifetime away; like a whole other Sakura away. But she wasn't entirely upset about it. She had grown up. And not only intellectually; she would be nineteen in a few short months—past adulthood in most lands.

She understood now that there was no time for girlish wonder in being a shinobi; that there was not space to giggle or slip when holding a kunai or battling for your life by the tips of your fingernails. But most importantly, she was _stronger_. She had completed her mission after all. Sakura had done the very thing she set out to do, and completed it two years earlier than her designated time frame.

She had slipped into the foundation of the infamous Zetsubō organization and derailed it single-handedly. She had assassinated the very head of the coup that had become a threat to all Kages in their goal of getting rid of the Kage system completely and placing their own leader as the head of all countries. It had manifested decades ago however grew to an unruly degree where the Godaime was forced to act. Zetsubō had become the very substance of urban legend and mingled whispers of fearsome myth between children. And she had ended it, with her own hands.

Sakura turned her head both ways quickly to assure there were no more lingering civilians around before stepping out onto the streets. It would do no good to be seen now.

She was only met with the stealthy silence of her fast paced, sandal-clad feet. She was happy with her progress. She was happy with the mission's outcome. She was happy with herself. But most of all, she was happy to be going back home.

She sighed again, and a benign half smile touched her lips. She looked back once more before jumping out into the trees. There was only the cold full moon to keep her company; it would be a long trek home it seemed.

…

As the village gates came into view Sakura found herself growing more hesitant in her movements. It had been three years since she'd been here last, or had any contact with Konoha. Her mission objective was too hazardous to risk compromising by sending any sort of message that could be easily intercepted by enemy hands. So in lieu of that she hadn't been able to keep in touch with any of her friends or comrades.

She found herself becoming increasingly anxious; wondering if the people she had been forced to leave behind could place her back in their lives so easily. So much must have changed in three years, could she catch up?

She chuckled softly and resumed her pace towards the gates. Of course she could. Her thoughts were evolving far beyond ridiculousness. Her friends were her family. _Konoha _was her family. Konoha was _home_.

…

The guards must have recognized her for they let her through without much fuss. She briefly wondered how they had identified her so swiftly after the years. She thought she had undergone a great amount of change over the years; even her uniform had altered. She had swapped her old skirt for simple black shorts and her glaring red blouse for a darker, almost maroon, top. However, she soon remembered her hair, and realized it was almost impossible to go unrecognized.

Sakura flicked a hand in greeting to the guards as she proceeded towards the Hokage tower. As she made her way through the village across the market many familiar faces stopped to greet her, and quite a few did a double take as she passed. She only smiled pleasantly and continued on her way.

The village had remained mostly the same it seemed; only a few shopkeepers had altered their shop signs. Ichiraku's of course, had remained the same. A smile crept its way up her lips at the prospect of seeing Naruto again. It had been far too long since she had witnessed that infectious smile of his and those baby blue eyes.

Lost in her thoughts, soon she found herself at the steps of the Hokage tower. The long hallway looked equally parts familiar as it did foreign, but she recalled the path to the Hokage's rooms easily enough. With only a moment's hesitation she knocked once and waited to hear an authoritative "Come in", before sliding into the room.

She was met with a bemused Tsunade and an agape Shizune.

"Sakura," Tsunade greeted her with smug proudness evident in her tone as her face melted into a pleased smile a proud parent might give their child after a particularly satisfactory achievement. The Godaime was never one for passionate reunions, and Sakura knew this was about as close to a passionate reunion Tsunade would ever give, so the answering smile she gave was completely genuine. She hadn't realized how much she had truly missed her shishou. Although she supposed she hadn't allotted herself much time to dwell on it either.

"You completed your mission in almost half the conjectured time. Quite a feat, even for someone raised under the tutelage of one as great as the Godaime herself." Tsunade boasted with a light in her eyes as she studied the kunoichi before her.

"Stop it shishou, you're making me blush." Sakura jibed easily.

Tsunade rolled her eyes before speaking once more with a smile still present on her face, "I assume you have the mission report?"

Sakura removed the papers from her pack and laid them out on the table before her in response. After surveying the papers briefly Tsunade set them back down and nodded to Shizune to file them accordingly. The Hokage leaned back in her chair and crossed her hands in front of her before looking back up to Sakura to survey her more adequately.

"You've changed," She noted simply.

The corner of a lip tilted upwards, "Well it _has _been a while."

Tsunade smirked and shook her head before looking back up at her student. Her demeanor shifted and she searched Sakura's eyes, though for what she couldn't guess.

A sigh escaped the Godaimes lips, "I'm going to tell you something. And I'm not sure how you'll take it."

Sakura's eyebrows only furrowed in response, and she said nothing, waiting for the inevitable elaboration.

"I'm sure you already know the reason I could not have shed light on this event before, but I will restate in anyways. The prospect of getting a message to you was too risky. It could have jeopardized the mission and we couldn't chance it."

Tsunade gave her a look that seemed to say _You understand?_

Sakura nodded her head yes.

Shizune and Tsunade shared a look before she continued.

"A year after you left, the Uchi—" The Hokage was cut short by the loud bang of the door being shot open.

"Hey Baa-chan I heard Sakura-chan's back! Is it true_?"_

The familiar voice caused Sakura to turn only to be met with the astonished face of one Naruto Uzumaki. His visage had transformed from boyhood to closer, but not quite reaching, that of a man's. His jawline was more prominent, and he'd lost the boyish roundness of his cheeks. He'd opted to lose the hideous orange jacket getup for a more practical orange shirt and black slacks.

"_Sakura-chan!" _The young man in front of her practically screamed before scooping her up in a crushing bear hug.

"Oh I missed you so much! I practically had to pay for my own ramen every day!" Naruto chattered on as he kept her pressed tightly against his own frame. Far too tightly to even hope for the prospect of oxygen circulation.

"Naruto…can't…breathe…" She managed to gasp out.

"Oh, oops." He laughed and scratched his head sheepishly as he let her down.

She only rolled her eyes at him and couldn't quite tamp down the smile that had erupted on her face, "Still the idiot I remembered I see."

Naruto pouted at her and made to protest but she used the opportunity to scout the other two figures in the room she had previously overlooked.

There was Kakashi, as exuberant as ever, standing in the corner of the room with his infamous _Icha Icha _in hand. He looked just the same; the man really didn't ever seem to age. His hair was still mussed and spiky at places and his jonin uniform remained the same. His lone eye crinkled in a smile at her and he brought up a hand in greeting, "Yo."

Typical Kakashi, couldn't even bother to give his returning pupil whom he had been separated from for three years a proper greeting. Sakura only sighed in response before turning her gaze to the other figure next to him.

Her posture was instantly rigid, and her gaze steely. The last time she'd seen this particular man (_boy _she silently amended) was when he tried to shove his hand clean through her heart. He had the same ridiculous hairstyle and searing black eyes. Though, thank god, he no longer wore his hideous purple bow, but a navy blue shirt with what she assumed would be an Uchiha crest on the back and black slacks similar to Naruto's.

He only stared back at her apathetically, most likely awaiting her fangirling screams of worship. Or a greeting at the very least. She did neither, and looked to Tsunade for explanation.

"Well this was what I was trying to warn you about before Uzumaki so rudely interrupted our conversation," She glad at aforementioned Uzumaki as he grinned and looked around the room nervously.

"Why has he been allowed to roam around freely?" She shot back without looking at the subject of conversation, "He's a missing nin, surely he should be receiving some sort of punishment?"

Sasuke only grunted at being spoken of like he wasn't present in the room.

"It's been two years Sakura. He's already been confined and tried. He was stripped of rank for a year before given the opportunity to earn it back, and under constant Anbu surveillance. His probation only ended last week."

She turned back to her teammates, two of which were eyeing her warily (although Kakashi's was much less apparent) while the other only looked annoyed.

Other than wary distrust, Sakura found herself feeling nothing towards the boy whom she had once revolved her entire life around. She supposed somewhere along the path of maturity she had ceased to care for, or about, the boy she was now looking at with slight distaste.

Sakura merely shrugged in response to Tsunade's explanation. Sasuke definitely wouldn't be let off the hook that easily, not by Sakura at least. The boy had to earn his trust back with her, until then she supposed she could only try her best to ignore him.

It was funny, she imagined, that such an inconsequential outcome would arise from what she once imagined would be such a cataclysmic reunion. She wasn't sure whether to be glad or disappointed. At the moment however, she was only relieved their team could be whole once again, albeit she did feel rather misplaced. Such an important part of all of their lives had been brought back without her; she had had no part in the retrieval of their old (_present?_) teammate.

She tried not to dwell on the creeping sense of alienation, and shrugged once more. The three were dismissed and they headed out of the Hokage's office.

Naruto's incessant chatter accompanied them down the hallway and once outside Sakura found herself asking, "Where's Sai?"

"Probably painting some penis pictures." Naruto cackled.

Sasuke scoffed and inwardly Sakura cringed.

"I was doing no such thing, and the fact that you were fantasizing about me painting male anatomy makes me feel rather uncomfortable about our relationship dynamic Dickless." Sai seemed to appear out of thin air, "And nice to see you again Ugly." He added and turned to smile blankly at Sakura.

"Uh…Hi Sai." She answered with an awkward smile of her own.

"No you sick freak you took it all wrong! And we most definitely have no _relationship dynamic _to even speak of in the first place!" Naruto screeched in exasperation and shook his finger in the unfortunate conversation partaker's face.

Sai smiled in response before turning back to Sakura, "It has been a long time Ugly, have you had any pleasant sexual relations whilst away?"

Unwanted flashbacks rushed to her mind before she could stop them and she froze for the briefest of seconds before composing herself. Imitating an exasperated sigh she answered back, "Where do you even pick up these conversation starters?"

Sakura nonchalantly looked around to make sure no one had noticed her discomfort, but luckily Sasuke and Naruto were in an argument of their own. Her shoulders sagged slightly in relief, before she noticed the stare Kakashi had fixed on her face. He immediately turned back to his precious _Icha Icha _before he thought she noticed it. But she had. She'd almost forgotten the incredible perception level Kakashi had honed over years in ANBU. He wasn't in the bingo book for nothing. He was the esteemed Copycat Ninja after all, albeit a very dirty-minded one at that, she amended when she heard him giggle at what must have been a particularly pleasing plot twist in _Icha Icha_.

Her mouth turned down into a frown as she realized Sai was still speaking. She picked up the end of his explanation, something about a book debriefing etiquette involved in greeting long lost comrades.

Sakura shook her head at his antics, it seemed like her fear of change was unnecessary. After she had answered her teammates' questions about her mission and gave them what little information she could actually tell them about it she quietly absorbed the scene around her. With Kakashi's head stuck in his porn novel, Naruto and Sasuke's squabbling like little girls, and Sai's completely misconstrued concepts of accepted society, she realized everything around her had reverted back to normal with alarming speed. It seemed the only one she should have feared to change was herself.

…

Author's note: So the story might seem kind of slow but I had to use the first chapter to set out the exposition and all that jazz but the following chapters will definitely have more action (wink wink). If I get enough reviews and feedback I'll try to post the second chapter up this month otherwise I'll probably just stick to doing homework like I should be doing…Any and all comments/critiques are appreciated. Xx


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